All posts by rebekahmorr

Part 2 of 2: In this installment, UTA News looked at how Crime Victim Services and the Relationship Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention program, or RVSP, work together to help students who have been victims of violent crime. The two programs are focused on advocating for and supporting student in times of need. The programs are hoping to host more events and information sessions together to get the word out about how they can assist students in times of trauma.

Treehouse Fest is a monthly gathering that features local musicians hosted by the UTA Football Team. The Football Team is a creative collective that’s goal is to make connections between musicians, venue owners, community members and others. The group’s creative arts director Eli Tomlanoivch and the group’s founder Garret Martin always say, “Be a connecting point, not an end point.” This month, Motha Falcon opened the night with their unique blend of pop, funk and rap. Their lead singer Diya Craft danced around the patio with ease, jumping on structures and even dropping the mic to get closer to onlookers. Besides the live music on the patio, their was also a stage in Truth Vinyl where attendees could vibe to different EDM artists throughout the night.

Part 1 of 2: Social work professor Rachel Voth-Schrag contributed to a study looking into the effectiveness of rape crisis centers in Texas. She found that their main priorities were addressing mental health challenges that accompany trauma and challenges with functioning after a traumatic event. There’s no rape crisis center at UTA, however the university does offer assistance through their Crime Victim Services unit under the UTA Police Department. VCS offers victims of any violent crime help getting the services they need to recover, and they can do so without filing a formal police report.

On April 14th at approximately 1 a.m. a female student reported a sexual assault involving a male student at the Kappa Sigma fraternity house. Other than the time, date and location of the assault, no additional information is known. Since the investigation is ongoing within the UTA Police Department, they were not able to provide any additional details. This news comes after all Fraternity and Sorority Life social activities were indefinitely suspended as of April 1, citing multiple student conduct violations – one of which resulted in the hospitalization of a male student.

UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs hosted a documentary screening and discussion about water conservation. CAPPA Dean Adrian Parr shared insight about her documentary

which detailed the struggles face by families in the slums of Nairobi, Africa in regards to clean water. Derica Peters, North Central Texas Council of Governments member, also talked about why water conservation is an important issue in North Texas as well as globally. The speakers offered students advice on how to conserve water at home and demonstrated why water conservation is an important practice for everyone to contribute to.

UTA’s Student Publication, The Shorthorn, received its fourth consecutive Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker award – commonly called the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate media. The Pacemaker recognizes excellence in reporting, writing, photography, graphics and design. Student journalists at The Shorthorn use all of these elements to produce a daily digital newsletter and weekly print edition. A few students were also recognized individually, including multimedia editor Duy Vu who won first place spot news photo among three other awards for excellence in photojournalism. Editor-in-Chief Narda Perez said The Shorthorn staff is proud to be recognized for all the hard work they put in everyday, but at the end of the day their work is to serve the community, not to win awards.

K-Pop music boomed through the speakers as students danced, ate and played games at the annual Korean Harvest Festival celebration. The gathering, hosted by the Korean Student Association, brought together students of all different backgrounds to take part in the festivities. In Korea, the Harvest Festival is traditionally celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar during a full moon. Those who celebrate the holiday gather with family to eat a large meal and thank their ancestors for a successful harvest. The event at UTA was potluck-style, which allowed students to bring their favorite Thanksgiving or Harvest Festival dishes to share.

A group of art students studied abroad in Florence, Italy over the summer, and brought back experience in both art and life. The students were tasked with creating a photo gallery while in Italy, to showcase at the university art gallery when they returned. One student, Carimar Vargas, found it difficult to decide on a subject matter at first but said she’s always been fascinated by the human form. This drew her to capturing photographs of statues while abroad. Students also created booklets filled with their photography and drawings, on paper crafted in Florence. The students showcased their work at the Arlington Museum of Art as well.

Every year during the fall and spring semester, UTA hosts campus elections for a variety of positions including Student Senate, Homecoming Court and Student Ambassadors. For the first time ever, UTA’s Graduate Student Senate is holding campus-wide elections this fall. In previous years, the Graduate Student Senate was open to any graduate student who wanted join, but without a formal election process there wasn’t equal representation for each college. By introducing elections, Graduate Student Senate President Anshul Talati said the body can better reach and serve graduate students on campus.